You must use a VPN service provider to protect your online identity from the prying eyes of your ISP, the NSA and other nefarious organizations and people.I’d like give you a first hand user review of the VPN service I use and tell you why I chose it.

The Alphabet Soup

Let’s get a few Acronyms out of the way first…

VPN – Virtual Private Network

ISP – Internet Service Provider

NSA – National Security Agency

IP – Internet Protocol (the communication system of the internet)

There’s No Denying It Now

Now, Let’s put the facts out on the table…

Have you see this video where Edward Snowden tells us what the NSA is up to?

Edward Snowden Interview – Part 1

Edward Snowden Interview – Part 2

It’s Pretty Scary Really!

When you start digging into the level of spying that’s going on around you all the time you will start taking steps to protect yourself like I have. One of the first steps is to implement a good VPN software on all your devices.

It really doesn’t matter if you’re doing anything wrong or not, you are being watched and tracked.

Your computer, your phone and other portable devices that connect to the internet have an IP number. Anything that uses WiFi and Internet has an IP number. An IP number is like an address or social security number it identifies your device on the network. Your internet provider gives you an IP number when you connect to the internet.

What’s Your IP Address?

Bring up your web browser and visit this website to see your IP number.

Here’s my raw real IP number provided by my internet provider, minus the last part of course.

My Real IP Address

This number identifies your device. When you visit CNN or Facebook your ISP knows that this device visited this website. Let’s just say an organization wanted to create a profile of you they could look at your web history and build a profile of the type of person you are and categorize you.

In a more extreme case you could be arrested or killed for websites that you visit in some countries. You’ve seen the show Big Brother right? A bunch of people living in a house with cameras constantly on them. That’s what surfing the web without a VPN is like.

If that doesn’t give you the chills up your spine I don’t know what will!

What does a VPN do?

A VPN is a way to securely connect to the internet and shield your internet traffic from prying eyes. Imagine you have a secure tunnel that you can travel through and pop out on the other side in another state or country. You’ve seen in the movies when prisoners break out of jail, it’s like that tunnel. Only this tunnel is secure and its connected to a computer that is hosted in some other city or country. When you connect to that computer and then access the internet it looks like your located in that city or country. See the diagram below.

But, Am I Really Safe?

You are definitely safe from prying eyes that want to track you and profile you and maybe steal your identity and passwords, but be warned if you are doing anything illegal you could still be caught by the authorities. Your VPN provider does know what web sites you visit and they could turn over their records to the authorities if they are asked to. So a word of advice don’t think you are above the law using your VPN and don’t do anything illegal or you may be caught.

When should I use VPN?

You should use it all the time, but here’s a definite must use all the time situation! Do you every jump on a FREE Wifi signal at the local coffee shop or restaurant? When you see the words FREE WiFi signal that should signal that you need to turn on your VPN software!

It’s very easy for anyone to hack a FREE WiFi signal and collect all of the traffic being sent over that wifi and collect your all the logins and passwords to the websites you visit. Trust me I can show you a ton of Youtube videos made by teenagers that show you exactly step by step how to hack a FREE WiFi signal and steal passwords. It’s super easy!

Which VPN Service should I use?

There are many VPN Service providers out there and I’ll probably do some side by side comparisons later. Some have more features than others and some are easier to use than others. They are all about the same price, some are even FREE.

They are very large and have servers all over the world. It’s good to have a company with many servers because it’s even harder to identify who you are if someone is watching at the other end.

The other thing I really like is that it’s super easy to install and runs on every device you may have. Your computer, your phone, your tablet. That’s means it’s super easy to be safe everywhere you go.

Take Hide My Ass out for a Test Drive and see how you like it. They 30 day money back guarantee to so if you don’t like it you can request a refund.